Wall mounted rattle reels are in common use in ice fishing houses. Such reels may be mounted on the inside wall of a fishing house in such a way that the line is dispensed straight down from the reel into a hole in the ice formed inside the house. These reels have a rattle built into the reel mechanism so that when a fish strikes, and the line plays out, a rattle is heard to alert the fishermen. The rattle reel suffers from the disadvantage that the line must be pulled in hand over hand in order to land the fish.
A product known as “ROD RATTLER” has also been introduced to the market place. That rod incorporates a rattle reel mounted on a bracket arm attached to a wall, with a separate bracket arm extending from the reel support arm for the attachment of an ice fishing rod. This arrangement suffers from several disadvantages. When a fish strikes, the entire reel support arm and bracket assembly for the rod must be removed from the wall mount, along with the rod and rattle reel, and that bracket and support arm assembly interferes with use of the rod and reel when trying to land a fish. Moreover, the simple, inexpensive rattle reels do not provide the drag setting mechanisms and precision operating features of ordinary fishing reels, which are very advantageous in playing large fish.
There is thus a need for a way of holding and securing an ordinary ice fishing rod and reel assembly within an ice house, while awaiting a fish strike, while also providing an alarm signal when a fish does strike so that the rod and reel can be readily dismounted from its holder in order to play and land the fish. The rod holder disclosed herein meets that need.